Seal-lock



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SEAL LOCK. y

y Patented Aug. 10, 1886.

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SEAL LOCK.

Patented Aug. 1o,v 1886.:

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UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. MARZELL KERSTEN, OF OXFORD JUNCTION, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO l LOEFFELHOLZ 5OO., OF MILWAUKEE, VISOONSIN.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 347,180, dated August10, 1886.

Application tiled October 5, 1885. Serial No. 178,964. ModeLl To allwhom it may concern.:

Beit known that I, MARZELL KERsTEN, of Oxford Junction, in the county ofJones, and in the State of Iowa, have invented certain new and'usefulImprovements in Seal-Locks; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to that class of seallocks in which a metallicstrip is inserted through a slot in the lock-casing, and is engaged byspring-catches which retain the stri p by engaging a slot in the same,and thus prevent the same from being withdrawn; and it consists in theimproved construction and conibination of parts of the same, as willbehereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure lis an elevation of my device in place on a car.Fig. 2 is aside elevation of 'my device. Fig. 3 Y isy an edge viewwithout the sealing-strip. Fig. 4 is a section through line x x, Fig. 2.Fig. 5 is a perspective showing the interior of my bolt. Fig. 6 is adetail showing the position of the parts as the sealing-stri p is beingforced into the bolt, and Fig. 7 their position after the strip has beeninserted. Fig. 8 is an edge view of a modified form; Fig. 9,aperspective of the interior of said form; Fig. 10, a section throughthe center of the device shown in Fig. 8, taken at right angles tothestrip-opening; and Figs. 1l and l2 are sealing-strips.

A and B indicate the two halves of the lockeasing, which is shaped inthe forni of a bolt, having, preferably, y an eye, O, at its upper end,for the purpose of attaching it to a chain, and the two halves areformed with longitudinal grooves or recessesD in their facing sides, inwhich recesses the locking mechanism is inclosed. At the lower end ofthese recesses the facing sides of .the halves of the casing are cutaway to form transverse recesses E, which forni a slot, F, when the twohalves of the casing are united bymeans of two or more rivets or bolts,G, which pass through the halves. At the lower ends of the halves of thecasing is preferably cut another slot, H, passing through the casing ata right angle to slot F, for the purpose of inserting a plain seal orstrip when the sealing-strips M are not used.

A transverse pin or bolt, I, is secured across the upper end of ,therecess D in one of the to either side.

halves of the casing, and the two catches J J are pivoted with theirupper ends upon this pin. These catches each consist of an arm beveledat its outer end, as shown at J', and has a spring, K, secured to itsback near its outer end, the other end of which spring bears against thebottom of the recess in the casing, and a spring-arm, L, is secured atits inner end to the inner end of the front edge of the arm of eachcatch J, and is formed at its outer end with a rectangularly-bent head,L', thc enlarged end of which bears against the beveled edge of theouter end of the catch-arm. The catch-arms are pivoted at the sides ofeach other upon the bolt or p in I, and have their beveled edges facingeach other, each arm having its spring bearing against the bottom of oneof the longitudinal Q recesses in the halves of the casing, and thebeveled ends of the arms project into the transverse slot F, which formsthe key-hole or slot for the reception of the seal or key. 'The seal orkey. M consists of a double strip of sheet metal having the ends cutoft", beveled at one edge, as shown, and having registering longitudinalslots M', near the ends, and it will be seen that when the beveled orpointed ends of this seal are inserted in slot F they will pass betweenthe beveled ends of the pivoted catch-arms and separate them until theslots in the key arrive at the heads ot' the springarms,when the saidheads will enter the slots and prevent the seal frombeing moved fartherThe heads of the spring-arms will thus hold the sealin place, and itwill be seen that it can only be removed by breaking it at its slottedportions,\vlien the pieces may be re1noved',while the seal is sodestroyed that it cannot be used again.

The lock mechanism will be so inclosed that it will not be affected byexposure to the weather, and the construction of said mechanism is sosimple thatit may be easilyconstructed at a small expense, and will notbe liable to get out of order during use. Vhen it is desired to use acommon lead seal or l wax seal secured to the end of astring or wiredrawn through the bolt,` the said string or wire may be drawn throughthe slot Hat the lower end of the bolt or easing.

In Figs. 8 to 10, inclusive, of the drawings,

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I show a modification of my device wherein the catches J .I aredispensed with and a singie hook is made to do the work. In thismodification, A A, Figs. S, 9, and 10, are the two halves of my bolt,and I] is a hook, the rear end of the shank of which carries a coiledspring, Z, and works in a housing, a, from which a spring, K, projects,said spring resting on ihe'top of the hook L, while the catch L3 of thehook projects into a recess, a, that has an inclined bottom, as shown inFig. l0. rIhe front end of the shank ol' the hook projects out beyondthe catch, and is beveled at l', the rear end heilig sufficiently loosein thc housing a to give the front end a certain amount ol' verticalplay to permit the sealingstrip to pass under it. In this modificationthe sealing-strip is inserted from either side of the pin, and as itsends are beveled it will wedge the catch back until the opposing beveledsurface underneath raises the catch-head high enon gh to permit thesealing-strip to pass under it, and then the eatclrhead will ride thesealing-strip until it reaches the slot M,wl1en it will drop intoit, andthus securethe strip in place.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a seal-lock, the combination, with the casing havingatransverseslot, of a catch-arm having one edge of its outer end beveled andprojecting into the slot, and having a spring bearing against the sideof the recess in the casing, and a spring-arm having a head bent atright angles to its shank and secured at its inner end to the front edgeof the eatelrarm, the end of the head bearing against the beveled edgeof the catch-arm, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. In aseal-loelr, the combination ofthe casing having a longitudinalrecess and havinga transverse slot crossing the lower end of the recess,two catch-arms pivoted at their upper ends in the upper end of therecess, and having the facing edges of their free ends eut oil' beveled,iiat springs secured near the outer ends of the rear edges of the armsand bean ing against the sides of the recess, spring-arms secured attheir inner ends to the inner ends of the front edges of the catch-arms,and hav ing heads at their outer ends bent at a right angle to theirshanks and bearing against the beveled edges of the ends of thecatch-arms, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A two-part easing for a seal-lock, having a slotin thelower end ofthe recess containing the locking mechanism, and having a slot below thesaid slot and at a right angle to the same for the reception of a commonsealing cord or wire, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. In a sealingbolt, a spring-arm having a catch-head, in combinationwith a catch-arm having a beveled opposing su rfaee, and a seal--ing-strip consisting of a single piece having the ends thereof beveledat one edge and having longitudinal slots, said piece bei ng doubled tobring its ends and slots into register, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, atMilwaukee, in the county ol' Milwaukee and State of \Vis cousin, in thepresence ol'two witnesses.

MARZELL KERSTEN.

fitnessem H. G. UNDnnwooD, G. A. ELA'rz.

